And the Pain Shall Fade
by Kate Barancik
Summary: Legolas and Gimli at the funeral of Frodo. Sequal to 'A Hobbit Named Baggins'.


And the Pain Shall Fade   
  
  


Summery: Legolas and Gimli attend the funeral of Frodo. Sequel to 'A Hobbit Named Baggins'. AU.   
Rating: PG-13   
Disclaimer: LotR is in no way, shape, or form mine.   
  
  


In Middle-earth death is a common enough occurrence amongst those who are not of any elven race. An Elf could only die one of two ways: killed in battle or of a broken heart. Standing beside the open wooden box and peering inside, Legolas Greenleaf believed that he would die of a broken heart. Inside the box was the small body of a hobbit, but not just any hobbit, he was the bravest of all hobbits in the eyes of Legolas. This hobbit was Frodo Baggins, the last of the Ring-bearers.   
His bright inquisitive eyes were now to be forever closed against the rays of the Sun. On the other side of this hobbit-casket stood Gimli the dwarf. His head hung low and tears welled in his brown eyes. Together, he and Legolas said a short prayer aloud in the elvish tongue of Lothlorien, a favorite among languages to Frodo. Nearly all of the Shire had turned out for the funeral, and even those from far off; the grandson of Lord Faramir, the children of the hobbit members of the Company, and the only son of King Elessar who was himself King now.   
Of all present only three had known Frodo personally; Legolas, Gimli, and Elanor, the daughter of Frodo's trusted servant Sam Gamgee. Elanor, though, remembered only vaguely of Frodo; most of what she could recall had happened when she had been older. Still, both Legolas and Gimli took solace in knowing that someone besides them had known Frodo, even if her memories were faded. It had been long since she had seen him; since her own father's funeral.   
"So passes our good hobbit friend, he shall be missed dearly," said Legolas. His head hung so that his chin rested between his collar bones; his words muffled. The cloaks of Lothlorien given to them long ago waved in the wind behind them. In the wooden box Frodo wore his, though it was worn down it was clean; Legolas nor Gimli would allow him to be buried with the dirt of Mordor on his cloak. Underneath this cloak and a shirt, Frodo wore the mithril coat given to him; laid upon his breast and stomach was Sting, the sword he had used in the Quest.   
"Sleep in peace and greet us when we meet again," said Gimli louder than Legolas had spoken. They brought down the box softly into the ground. Beside this grave were the graves of Sam, Merry, and Pippin in said order. King Elessar had wished for all four hobbits to be buried in Minas Tirith along with the rest of the Company, but they had refused. Instead, upon one of his journeys, Legolas had created tombstones made of granite with each hobbits names carved upon them. After the King had passed each name was place around him; Frodo at his head, Sam to his right, Pippin at his feet, and Merry to his left.   
Gandalf was buried in the sacred ground just nearby the King's burial where a monument had been placed long years before in honor of Boromir. In ever realm of Middle Earth there was a stone memorial praising the Company of the Ring and the Quest of Nine Fingered Frodo Baggins to destroy the One Ring of Power. Each was made by those who knew the members well; in Lothlorien Lord Celeborn and Lady Galadriel had one built before traveling away on the Grey Havens, likewise did Elrond in Rivendell, in the Shire all the hobbits helped, in Mirkwood it was Legolas himself, in Moria it was Gloin, in Gondor it was King Elessar, in Rohan Eomer took the honors, and in Mordor it was Gandalf before his death.   
"Be at peace, son of the Shire," said Legolas and Gimli together. Those had been the last words to every member buried previously; it had started with Aragorn speaking the words "Be at peace, son of Gondor," to Boromir just after his death. Every time it had been changed to meet the specific country or land the member hailed from. For Gandalf they would say of no land, for none knew where he had been spawn from.   
Legolas cast upon the casket the first sprinkles of dirt, followed by Gimli and Elanor, and the rest of the Shire afterwards. The dirt rose to nearly fill half the hole, but the gravediggers filled in the remainder. One by one the hobbits left to tend to their own particular memorial service to pay tribute to the great adventurer Frodo Baggins. The only that did not budge even slightly were the dwarf and the Elf. The only object of them that moved were their cloaks wafting in the wind.   
Tears fell from the eyes of Legolas to land on the flat granite gravestone of Frodo. His sight wondered over and again on the inscription of the stone: HERE LIES FRODO BAGGINS, SON OF DROGO, ELF-FRIEND AND UNYIELDING ADVENTURER. Frodo had wanted adventure, Legolas knew, just not the adventure he had received. His Quest had been written down again and again, told to children as a bedtime story or to tell round a fire on long journeys. At times it was hard for the two remaining members of the Company to remember specifics of the journey.   
"He sleeps in peace with those who have gone before him," spoke Gimli quietly, "Do you believe they wait for us?"   
"I hope they do. I plan not to keep them waiting long, I miss them. I miss them so much that it pains me," said Legolas in return. Gimli gave him a worried glance.   
"What mean you by saying you will not keep them waiting long?" asked Gimli with concern. The Elf did not answer, but turned and walked quietly from the grave. Gimli cast one last sorrow filled glance to the grave and followed his friend. He called to Legolas, "What do you mean to do?"   
"I mean to end my pain," he stopped walking and turned to Gimli, "and yours as well, if you wish."   
Gimli did not know how to answer this proposition. He stood in his spot to think for a moment; Legolas did not rush him, though he was anxious to begin his plan. Finally the dwarf looked up from staring at the ground to peer at Legolas with red eyes. He took a deep breath as his choice weighed heavy upon him.   
"I shall go with you and end my pain."   


~*~   


The boat rocked uncontrollably on the wild Sea. Legolas and Gimli sat at the stern, staring out into the night. They could see the waves vaguely if they came close enough to the boat. The rain poured onto them, but they barely seemed to notice. A wave washed over the side of the tall boat and crawled up to their feet. Neither of them reacted. As another wave came washing up to their hips, their eyes closed and they waited.   
Legolas nor Gimli were willing to take their own lives, or each others. This was the best idea Legolas could think of. He had taken all eight of the Company on the boat when he completed it. They name it together, _The Ship of Brothers_. It did not belong to Legolas alone, but all nine members of the Company, including Boromir. Only once did the eight of them travel on it down the Anduin and into the Sea; after which Gandalf was killed by rabid beings left from the rein of Sauron.   
Below the decks lay a painting Bilbo had made of the Company of the Ring, using memory to include Boromir. Bilbo had given it to Frodo for his first birthday after the Quest, and Frodo had given to Legolas after naming the boat. Also included were small momentous Gimli and Legolas had collected before heading out to sea; their cloaks, swords, gifts from Galadriel, books written by Bilbo and Frodo, and pendants given to them by King Elessar.   
A deafening noise of splitting wood and creaking iron sounded from below them. Water rushed in with a great hiss into the boat and it began to sink fast. Gimli and Legolas did not notice, their eyes were shut and their breaths were shallow. Without opening his eyes, Gimli reached beside him and took hold of Legolas's hand. Gimli squeezed as the final wave came over their head and swallowed them whole.   
The pain was gone, the darkness now traded for blinding light. Gimli shielded his eyes just as the white light soften to a distant glow. He saw the glow coming from the windows of a hobbit hole; he recognized it to be Bag End. He placed his hand forward and pushed open the door. Music and laughter greeted his ears as a smile formed on his lips. The shadows of many danced about the walls, some were tall and others were short. A hand placed itself upon his shoulder and he spun to see Legolas standing in the doorway.   
"Let us see our friends," said Legolas in his usual soft tone. They stepped into the foyer, not bothering to close the door. They turned to their collective left to see Bilbo playing on a musical devise remotely resembling and accordion. Dancing about were Faramir with Eowyn and Aragorn with Arwen; the others sat by idle, clapping to the music. It was then that Legolas noticed that he need not duck when walking through the hobbit home, the ceiling seemed to have gotten higher somehow.   
The music suddenly stopped as Bilbo saw the two, all others noticed them once they saw where Bilbo was looking. Smiles crept on all the faces and the first to reach them in a hug was Boromir, whom they had not seen in ages. The man did not look any different than last they saw him, though the rest looked as they had when they all first met.   
"Sorry we could not come sooner," apologized Gimli. Frodo stepped forth with a smile playing on his young face; his bright blue eyes sparkled under his rejuvenated dark hair.   
"As long as you have come, it matters not how long we waited," said Frodo. He hugged as far up the Elf as possible and about the shoulders of the slightly taller then himself dwarf. He motioned for the two to join.   
"We've been saving you both mugs of ale," said Merry, handing over a mug.   
"Begin the music again, mistro," said Legolas signaling to Bilbo to continue his play. At the request Bilbo began again, the younger hobbits and Aragorn singing along. In their hearts there was no more pain of journey or weariness of travel, just joy of reunion between old friends. So came the end in the living world of the Company of the Ring.   
  
  


The End.   
  
  


A/N: Yipee, it's done! Now that I have read the book I know how I messed up with 'A Hobbit Named Baggins', but I still liked how it turned out. If you don't just keep in mind that I'm writing about eleven stories at once (most of which are LotR, by the way). 


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